US casts wide net for 'leaker'

2003-10-03 13:35

Washington - The United States government investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's name will expand beyond the White House and the spy agency to other parts of the government with access to the officer's classified identity, officials said on Thursday.

The Justice Department sent "do not destroy" letters to the defence and state departments requesting preservation of phone logs, e-mails and other documents that could become evidence in the inquiry, senior law enforcement officials said.

"We will co-operate fully," said State Department spokesperson Susan Pittman. Two Defence Department officials said they had been told earlier to expect such a letter

The goal for investigators is to cast as wide a net as possible for anyone who might have leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operations officer who has served overseas. Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph C Wilson, who has accused the Bush administration of selective use of intelligence to exaggerate the threat from Iraq.

Finding the leaker

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the leak of Plame's identity, which first appeared in a July 14 column by syndicated columnist Robert Novak and later was reported by Newsday. The probe is focused on finding the leaker, not on prosecuting those who reported her name, officials say.

Justice Department policy is to consider seeking subpoenas of reporters only as a last resort, officials say.

"When it comes to the media, there are a lot of safeguards built into the system," said FBI spokesperson Susan Whitson.

Attorney General John Ashcroft would have to personally approve any subpoenas for reporters' notes or telephone records.

Bush spokesperson Scott McClellan said on Thursday that, as far as he knew, no White House staffers had been interviewed by the FBI and no subpoenas for records or documents had been received. McClellan promised to disclose any such subpoenas received by the White House, if the Justice Department did not object.

Democratic drumbeat

On Capitol Hill, the Democratic drumbeat continued for Ashcroft to appoint a special counsel to run the investigation. Democrats say someone outside the justice department could conduct a more thorough investigation because that person would not have political ties to the Bush administration.

Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, took it a step further by urging Ashcroft to recuse himself entirely from the probe, citing numerous political ties between Justice Department officials and the White House.

Schumer noted that Ashcroft stepped aside in the 2001 probe of former Senator Robert Torricelli, D-NJ, because Torricelli had campaigned against Ashcroft in the attorney general's unsuccessful bid for re-election as a senator from Missouri in 2000.

"It is just as inappropriate for Mr. Ashcroft to do any work on this matter," Schumer said.

Justice Department officials say Ashcroft has not foreclosed any option in the investigation but continues to have confidence in career prosecutors and FBI agents to handle it.

Without identifying anyone, McClellan said that unidentified foes of the White House "are looking through the lens of political opportunism" to fan the controversy.

We all know who they are

"There are some that are seeking partisan political advantage," he said. "I don't need to go into names. We all know who they are."

The investigation, meanwhile, remained in its early stages. The FBI's team of about a half-dozen agents has put together an investigative strategy and set up a command structure that includes both Director Robert Mueller and Deputy Director Bruce Gebhardt.

- AP